in collaboration with the Institute for
Plasma Focus Study (IPFS), Melbourne and INTIUniversityCollege (INTI-UC).

(This article is a photo
record of the conference and lecture tour.)

Professor Dr Lee
Sing and Professor Dr Saw SorHeoh
were invited by the Turkish Science and Research Foundation to participate in a
world-first combined Nuclear and Renewable Energy Conference, to promote discussion
and awareness of non-fossil fuels as innovative, sustainable and
environmentally friendly energy solutions.

Prof Dr Lee Sing
served in the Scientific and Consultative Committees (Photo 1)and gave the first Keynote Address on Fusion
Energy and the Plasma Focus while Prof Dr Saw SorHeoh presentedthe invited paper Scaling the Plasma Focus for Fusion Energy Consideratons in the afternoon session. The role
of nuclear fusion energy was emphasized, as a limitless clean energy, which in
the time frame of modern human civilization is nearing implementation, with the
unprecedented international scientific and political collaboration in the ITER
(International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project. Other smaller
nuclear fusion projects also contribute to important databases necessary for
the success of harnessing fusion energy; moreover our group has developed an
internationally recognized computer code which has provided ground-breaking
insights into plasma focus fusion devices.

The Conference was
officiated by the Minister of Energy TanerYildiz and was well-covered by the local media because of
the current debate in Turkey on nuclear energy and other energy issues
affecting the world and Turkey. (See Photos 1 & 2).

Photo 1Photo 2

On the second day
of the Conference, Prof Dr Lee Sing and the Conference Organizing Chairman,
Prof Dr MehmetSahin, were
interviewed live on world energy issues by Turkish National TV, TRT Turk for a
30 minute ‘MASA’ programme (Photos 3-5).Prof Lee Sing
spoke passionately on nuclear fusion energy as a safe, clean, limitless source
of energy that will provide Mankind with all energy needs for millions of
years, a role which cannot be undertaken in the long term by any other
presently foreseeable sources of energy.

Photo 3

Photo
4Photo 5

Following the
Conference, Prof Dr Lee Sing and Prof Dr Saw SorHeoh jointly presented a series of talks under the Special
Scientific Programme arranged by the Turkish Science
& Research Foundation (TUBAV) to promote the research and awareness of
nuclear fusion energy.

The first joint
talk was given to scientists, researchers and engineers on October 1 at the
Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) Saraykoy
Nuclear Research Training Center on Latest
Trends in Plasma Focus Studies. A meeting with the Director and Department
Heads of the Center (Photo 6) was followed by a visit to the Saraykoy Plasma Focus Laboratory where Prof Lee & Prof
Saw proposed to the Saraykoy Team steps needed to
be taken to upgrade their ODAK-3K focus so that it would perform more
efficiently. (Photo 7).

Photo 6Photo 7

The second joint talk
was given to scientists and top science administrators at the Turkish Science
and Research Foundation (TUBAV) on Energy
Gain from Thermonuclear Fusion. This was followed by an intense and lively
discussion, sometimes in Turkish, on the safety, problems and time scale of the
international nuclear fusion research efforts. (Photos 8-10).

Photo
8

Photo 9Photo10

Highlight of the
Turkish Scientific Programme Lecture Tour was the
conferment by the Turkish Science and Research Foundation (TUBAV) of Honorary
Life Membership of Turkish Science and Research Foundation (TUBAV) to Prof Dr
Lee Sing and to Prof Dr Saw SorHeoh;
a rare and distinctive honour. (Photos 11-13).

Photo 11Photo 12Photo 13

The third joint
talk was given (Photos 14-15) at Gazi University,
Technical Education Faculty, on Plasma
Focus Fusion Devices.(Photo 16).

Photo 14Photo 15

Photo 16

This series of
talks has been successful to generate greater interest in nuclear fusion
energy, and contribute to promote greater understanding and interest in this
area and strengthen collaborations between IPFS, INTI-UC,
NTU/NIE and TUBAV, TAEK and the energy
community in Turkey.

A visit was also made to IstanbulBilgiUniversity
on 6 October. Two campuses were visited:

The Dolapdere
Campus has functional, attractive design of building in steel. The
building won the 2003 European steel building design award. The IstanbulBilgiUniversity Press publishes a wide
selection of books in Turkish and English. The Santral
Campus is set in beautiful parkland.
Attractive setting includes modern cafes, classrooms, lecture theatres and a Museum of Energy
based on the Silahtaraga Power Plant which powered
all of Istanbul
Electricity in the years 1914-1952. (Photo 17).

A lunch was hosted
by Rector Prof Dr Halil M Guven
followed by a meeting with Laureate
International UniversitiesTurkey
CEO RifatSaricaoglu (Photo
18). Prof Guven commented on the rare distinction of
Honorary Life Membership of TUBAV, before discussions centred
on the Bilgi May conference on learning and teaching
in relation to the European Higher Education Reform Process known as the
Bologna Process with emphases on accountability of teaching, learning outcomes,
quality frameworks and lifelong learning goals.

Rector Prof Guven also informed that Istanbul Bilgi
University planned to launch a new Energy Engineering programme
and that the proposed innovative programme needed an
advanced topic like Nuclear Fusion Energy to spearhead the programme.
Our Lecture Tour of Turkey
on exactly that topic was therefore opportune. He suggested the possibility for
the assistance of IPFS to formulate the Nuclear Fusion Energy component of the Bilgi Energy Engineeringprogramme.